Wearable article having elastic belt

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a wearable article comprising a main body and a ring-like elastic belt comprising a front belt and a back belt. At least some of the elastic bodies may be arranged in an array, the array defined as meeting: a) one array is formed by 2-10 elastic bodies; b) each elastic body within one array is disposed in an inner-interval between each elastic body of 2-4 mm; and c) one specific array disposed in an extra-interval between at least one neighboring elastic bodies outside the specific array of greater than the inner-interval. Further, the front belt may comprise at least 5 arrays.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/443,036, filed on Feb. 27, 2017, which is a continuation ofApplication No. PCT/CN2015/072190, filed on Feb. 4, 2015, and which is acontinuation-in-part of Application No. PCT/CN2014/085255, filed on Aug.27, 2014, the substances of which are herein incorporated by referencein their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to wearable articles having an elasticbelt having arrays of elastic bodies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Infants and other incontinent individuals wear wearable articles such asdiapers to receive and contain urine and other body exudates. Pull-onwearable articles, or pant-type wearable articles, are those which aredonned by inserting the wearer's legs into the leg openings and slidingthe article up into position about the lower torso. Pant-type absorbentarticles have become popular for use on children who are able to walkand often who are toilet training, as well as for younger children whobecome more active in movement such that application of taped-typeabsorbent articles tend to be more difficult.

Many pant-type wearable articles use elastic elements secured in anelastically contractible condition in the waist and/or leg openings.Typically, in order to insure full elastic fit about the leg and thewaist such as is provided with durable undergarments, the leg openingsand waist opening are encircled at least in part with elasticizedelements positioned along the periphery of the respective opening.

Pant-type wearable articles having a main body to cover the crotchregion of the wearer and a separate elastic belt defining the waistopening and leg opening are known in the art, such as described in PCTPublication WO 2006/17718A. Such pant-type wearable articles may bereferred to as belt-type pants. On the other hand, certain pant-typewearable articles are configured such that the outer cover of thewearable body completely covers the entirety of the garment-facingsurface of the article. Such pant-type wearable articles may be referredto as uni-body pants. Belt-type pants, compared to uni-body pants, maybe advantageous in having better breathability by having less layers ofmaterial in certain areas of the articles, and in that they may bemanufactured economically. For belt-type pants, the elastic beltprovides fit for not just the waist opening and low torso area, but alsofor the leg opening, in that the leg opening of belt-type pants arerendered elastic by the combination of elasticity provided by the mainbody and the elastic belt. Thus, for belt-type pants, sag protection andgood fit for the entire article are mainly provided by the elastic belt.Providing a certain tensile stress for the elastic belt is essential forproviding sag protection and good fit for the entire article. Theelastic belt of belt-type pants are economically rendered elasticity bydisposing a plurality of elastic strands running in the transversedirection of the article. The tensile force provided by the relativelythin elastic strands may lead to red marking of the wearer's skin.Further, the tensile force provided by the elastic strands may lead todiscomfort of the wearer.

Based on the foregoing, there is a need for a pant-type wearable articlehaving balanced performance such as fit, comfort during wear, preventionof sagging, prevention of leakage, and prevention of red marking. Thereis further a need for providing such a wearable article in an economicalmanner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure is directed to a wearable article continuous in alongitudinal direction and a transverse direction, comprising a mainbody and a ring-like elastic belt comprising a front belt and a backbelt. The center of the front belt may be joined to a front waist panelof the main body. The center of the back belt may be joined to a backwaist panel of the main body. The front and back belt may each have aleft side panel and a right side panel where the main body does notoverlap. The transverse edges of the front belt and the back belt may bejoined by a seam to form a waist opening and two leg openings. Each ofthe front belt and back belt may be formed by a plurality of elasticbodies running in the transverse direction sandwiched between an innersheet and an outer sheet. Each of the front belt and back belt may havetransversely continuous proximal and distal edges, the proximal edgebeing located closer than the distal edge relative to the longitudinalcenter of the article. At least some of the elastic bodies disposed onthe front belt and the back belt may be arranged in an array meeting: a)one array is formed by 2-10 elastic bodies; b) each elastic body withinone array is disposed in an inner-interval in the longitudinal directionbetween each elastic body of 2-4 mm; and c) one specific array disposedin an extra-interval in the longitudinal direction between at least oneneighboring elastic bodies outside the specific array of greater thanthe inner-interval. The front belt may comprise at least 5 arrays.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing outand distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as formingthe present invention, it is believed that the invention will be betterunderstood from the following description which is taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings and which like designations are used todesignate substantially identical elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a wearable article ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of one embodiment of a wearable articleof the present invention with the seams unjoined and removed, and in aflat uncontracted condition showing the garment facing surface.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side plan view of one embodiment of a wearablearticle of the present invention in a flat uncontracted conditionshowing the garment facing surface.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side plan view of another embodiment of a wearablearticle of the present invention in a flat uncontracted conditionshowing the garment facing surface.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side plan view of another embodiment of a wearablearticle of the present invention in a flat uncontracted conditionshowing the garment facing surface.

FIG. 6 is a side view of one embodiment of a wearable article of thepresent invention worn on a mannequin.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a wearable article of the prior art worn on amannequin.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of an example of a hanger-type sample holdingfixture according to the “Whole Article Force Measurement”.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of one embodiment of a wearable articleof the prior art with the seams unjoined and removed, and in a flatuncontracted condition showing the garment facing surface.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side plan view of one embodiment of a wearablearticle of the prior art in a flat uncontracted condition showing thegarment facing surface.

DEFINITIONS

As used herein, the following terms shall have the meaning specifiedthereafter:

“Wearable article” refers to articles of wear which may be in the formof pants, taped diapers, incontinent briefs, feminine hygiene garments,and the like. The “wearable article” may be so configured to also absorband contain various exudates such as urine, feces, and menses dischargedfrom the body. The “wearable article” may serve as an outer coveradaptable to be joined with a separable disposable absorbent insert forproviding absorbent and containment function, such as those disclosed inPCT publication WO 2011/087503A.

“Pant” refers to disposable absorbent articles having a pre-formed waistand leg openings. A pant may be donned by inserting a wearer's legs intothe leg openings and sliding the pant into position about the wearer'slower torso. Pants are also commonly referred to as “closed diapers”,“prefastened diapers”, “pull-on diapers”, “training pants” and“diaper-pants.”

“Longitudinal” refers to a direction running substantially perpendicularfrom a waist edge to an opposing waist edge of the article and generallyparallel to the maximum linear dimension of the article.

“Transverse” refers to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection.

“Body-facing” and “garment-facing” refer respectively to the relativelocation of an element or a surface of an element or group of elements.“Body-facing” implies the element or surface is nearer to the wearerduring wear than some other element or surface. “Garment-facing” impliesthe element or surface is more remote from the wearer during wear thansome other element or surface (i.e., element or surface is proximate tothe wearer's garments that may be worn over the disposable absorbentarticle).

“Disposed” refers to an element being located in a particular place orposition.

“Joined” refers to configurations whereby an element is directly securedto another element by affixing the element directly to the other elementand to configurations whereby an element is indirectly secured toanother element by affixing the element to intermediate member(s) whichin turn are affixed to the other element.

“Extendibility” and “extensible” mean that the width or length of thecomponent in a relaxed state can be extended or increased.

“Elasticated” and “elasticized” mean that a component comprises at leasta portion made of elastic material.

“Elongatable material,” “extensible material,” or “stretchable material”are used interchangeably and refer to a material that, upon applicationof a biasing force, can stretch to an elongated length of at least about110% of its relaxed, original length (i.e. can stretch to 10 percentmore than its original length), without rupture or breakage, and uponrelease of the applied force, shows little recovery, less than about 20%of its elongation without complete rupture or breakage as measured byEDANA method 20.2-89. In the event such an elongatable material recoversat least 40% of its elongation upon release of the applied force, theelongatable material will be considered to be “elastic” or“elastomeric.” For example, an elastic material that has an initiallength of 100 mm can extend at least to 150 mm, and upon removal of theforce retracts to a length of at least 130 mm (i.e., exhibiting a 40%recovery). In the event the material recovers less than 40% of itselongation upon release of the applied force, the elongatable materialwill be considered to be “substantially non-elastic” or “substantiallynon-elastomeric”. For example, an elongatable material that has aninitial length of 100 mm can extend at least to 150 mm, and upon removalof the force retracts to a length of at least 145 mm (i.e., exhibiting a10% recovery).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the wearable article 20of the present invention and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the samearticle with the seams enjoined and in its flat uncontracted conditionshowing the garment-facing surface. The wearable article 20 has alongitudinal centerline L1 which also serves as the longitudinal axis,and a transverse centerline T1 which also serves as the transverse axis.The wearable article 20 has a skin-facing surface, a garment-facingsurface, a front region 26, a back region 28, a crotch region 30, andseams 32 which join the front region 26 and the back region 28 to formtwo leg openings and a waist opening. The wearable article 20 comprisesa main body 38 to cover the crotch region of the wearer, a front belt 84and a back belt 86 (hereinafter may be referred to as “front and backbelt”), the front and back belts 84, 86 forming a ring-like elastic belt40 (hereinafter may be referred to as “waist belt”) extendingtransversely defining the waist opening. The front and back belts 84, 86and the main body 38 jointly define the leg openings.

The main body 38 may contain an absorbent core 62 for absorbing andcontaining body exudates disposed on the main body 38. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 2 , the main body 38 has a generally rectangular shape,left and right longitudinally extending side edges 48 (hereinafter maybe referred to as “side edge”) and front and back transversely extendingend edges 50 (hereinafter may be referred to as “end edge”). The mainbody 38 also has a front waist panel 52 positioned in the front region26 of the wearable article 20, a back waist panel 54 positioned in theback region 28, and a crotch panel 56 between the front and back waistpanels 52, 54 in the crotch region 30. The center of the front belt 84is joined to a front waist panel 52 of the main body 38, the center ofthe back belt 86 is joined to a back waist panel 54 of the main body 38,the front and back belt 84, 86 each having a left side panel and a rightside panel 82 where the main body 38 does not overlap.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the ring-like belt 40 formed by the frontbelt 84 and back belt 86 acts to dynamically create fitment forces andto distribute the forces dynamically generated during wear. Herein, theterm “proximal” is used to indicate the position of a “proximal” portionbeing closer relative to the longitudinal center of the article, alsocloser relative to the crotch panel 56 of the main body 38 than theposition of a “distal” portion. Therefore, the proximal edge 90 islocated closer than the distal edge 88 relative to the crotch panel 56of the main body 38. The front and back belts 84, 86 may be joined witheach other only at the side edges 89 at the seams 32 to form a wearablearticle having a waist opening and two leg openings. Each leg openingmay be provided with elasticity around the perimeter of the leg openingby the combination of elasticity from the front belt 84, the back belt86, and any from the main body 38. The front leg opening region 120 isdisposed adjacent the leg opening along the proximal edge 90 of the leftand right side panels 82 of the front belt 84.

The front and back belts 84, 86 are discontinuous with one another inthe crotch region 30. In such embodiment, there is no material thatcovers the entirety of either the wearer-facing surface orgarment-facing surface of the article. The front central panel 80 maypartly overlap with the front waist panel 52 of the main body 38. Theback central panel 80 may partly overlap with the back waist panel 54 ofthe main body 38. However, the central panels 80 may not extend into thecrotch panel 56 of the main body 38 and not be disposed in the crotchpanel 56. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the central panels 80partly overlap with and are joined to the front waist panel 52 and theback waist panel 54, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the front belt 84 and back belt 86 may eachcomprise an inner sheet 94, an outer sheet 92, (hereinafter alsocollectively “belt sheets”) and configured to impart elasticity per eachzone according to the relationship described below. (The inner sheet 94is not shown.) Each of the front and back belts 84, 86 may be made as alaminate having a plurality of belt elastic bodies 96 sandwiched betweenthe inner and outer sheets 94, 92. In one embodiment, the belt elasticbodies 96 extend in the transverse direction to provide a ring-likeelastic belt when the front belt 84 and the back belt 86 are joined. Inone embodiment, at least some of the elastic bodies 96 extend in thetransverse direction parallel to each other. In one embodiment, all ofthe elastic bodies 96 extend in the transverse direction substantiallyparallel to each other. Such an article may be economically made.

In one embodiment, the effective transverse width LW of the back belt 86in the uncontracted condition may be the same as the transverse width ofthe front belt 84 of the same condition. By “effective transversewidth”, what is meant is the width available for forming thewearer-facing surface of the article. In one embodiment, each of theproximal edges 90 and the distal edges 88 of the front belt 84 and theback belt 86 may be substantially parallel, as in FIG. 2 .

In one embodiment, the longitudinal length LB of the back belt 86between the back distal edge 88 and the back proximal edge 90 along itsentire width LW of the back belt 86 may be approximately the same as thelongitudinal length LF of the front belt 84 between the front distaledge 88 and the front proximal edge 90. In such embodiment, the seams 32close the front and back belt 84, 86 side edges 89 of the same lengthfor forming the article. Such an article may be economically made.

In one embodiment, the back belt 86 may have a greater longitudinallength LB between the back distal edge 88 and the back proximal edge 90along its entire width LW of the back belt 86 in the transversedirection than the longitudinal length LF of the front belt 84 betweenthe front distal edge 88 and the front proximal edge 90 (FIGS. 1-5 ). Insuch embodiment, when the wearable article is assembled to form thewaist opening and the leg openings, the wearable article 20 is foldedalong the transverse centerline T1 such that the front distal edge 88 isaligned with the back distal edge 88. The front side edge 89 is alsoaligned with a portion of the back side edge 89. Then the front belt 84and the back belt 86 are joined at the front and back side edges 89 atthe seams 32. The front and back proximal edges 90, however, may not bealigned to one another. The back proximal edge 90 may be disposedlongitudinally closer than the front proximal edge 90 relative to thetransverse center line T1 such that the proximal portion of the backside panel 82 extends toward the crotch panel 56 of the main body 38beyond the front proximal edge 90. The side edge of the proximal portionof the back side panel 82 may not be joined to anywhere and free fromattachment. Thus, the proximal portion of the back side panel 82provides a buttock cover 95 as in FIG. 1 .

Whether or not the longitudinal length LB of the back belt 86 and thelongitudinal length LF of the front belt 84 are the same, the entiretyof the longitudinal length LF of the belt side edge 89 of the front belt84 may be seamed with the belt side edge 89 of the back belt 86 todefine a seam length LS, as in FIG. 3 . When the front belt 84 hasstraight distal edges 88 and proximal edges 90 that are substantiallyparallel of each other, then the longitudinal length LF of the frontbelt 84 is equal to the seam length LS.

In one embodiment, the outer sheet 92 of the front or back belt 84, 86towards the distal edge 88 may be longer than the size of the innersheet 94 in the longitudinal direction, and an end flap of the outersheet 92 may be folded over the distal end of the inner sheet 94 at thewaist opening. The front and back belts 84, 86 may be provided in lowcaliper non-woven material for sake of breathability and softness of thebelt 40.

The tensile stress (N/m) of the front and back elastic belts 84, 86,respectively, may be profiled in order to provide the benefits of thepresent invention. The tensile stress may be measured, for example, bythe Belt Zone Tensile Stress Measurement described herein below. Whenthe elasticity of the front and back elastic belts 84, 86 are providedby a plurality of elastic bodies 96 running in the transverse direction,the tensile stress may be adjusted by one or more of the followingmethods; 1) elongation rate of the elastic body 96; 2) density (dtex) ofthe elastic body 96; 3) longitudinal interval of multiple elastic bodies96; and 4) effective length of elasticity of the elastic body 96 in thetransverse direction. By elongation, “0% elongation” is meant theoriginal length of the elastic body. When a portion of an elastic bodyis removed of its elasticity, the remainder of the intact elastic bodycapable of imparting elasticity is defined as the “effective length ofelasticity of an elastic body”. The elastic bodies 96 disposed on thefront and/or back belt 84, 86 may be treated such that certain of thearea overlapping the front and/or back waist panels 52, 54 of the mainbody 38 are removed of elasticity. Removal of elasticity from at least aportion of the area overlapping the front and/or back waist panel 52, 54of at least one elastic body may be advantageous when the main body 38comprises an absorbent core 62, in that elasticity in the front and/orback area may cause bunching of the absorbent core 62 and interfere withclose fit of the main body 38 to the wearer. In one embodiment, at leasta portion of, or at least 10% of, or at least 20% of, or at least 30%of, the elasticity of; at least one of, or at least half of, or at leasttwo thirds of, or all of, the elastic bodies are removed in the regionoverlapping with the front and back waist panels 52, 54 or the absorbentcore 62 of the main body 38.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the elastic bodies 96 of the belt 40 of thepresent invention may be arranged in arrays. The arrays of the presentinvention, whether basic array 122 or concentrated array 124, have atleast 2 elastic bodies 96 disposed in close proximity to each other inthe longitudinal direction. Specifically, a plurality of elastic bodies96 are disposed at an interval, herein defined as an inner-interval 132,of 2-4 mm. Any two or more elastic bodies 96 disposed in aninner-interval 132 of 2-4 mm are referred to herein as an array. Withoutbeing bound by theory, by disposing the elastic bodies 96 in such closeproximity to each other, the array exhibits a behavior as if it were oneelastic body with a certain width, and provides various benefits. Forexample, the array provides more or less the combined tensile force ofthe elastic bodies 96 in the array, such that each elastic body 96 maybe disposed at a much lower tensile force. Further, the gathers createdin the inner-interval 132 of the array are so fine that the area of theinner sheet 94 facing the wearer is significantly increased. Suchincreased area of material in the inner-interval 132, combined with theelastic bodies 96 of the array, apply a tensile force to the wearer overa distributed width, compared to the width of a single elastic body.Namely, the array exhibits a behavior as if it were one elastic body. Assuch, the array may provide a good fit to the wearer by using relativelylow density elastic bodies which are economically supplied. Thereduction of tensile stress in a concentrated area compared to that of asingle elastic body, may also reduce red marking on the skin of thewearer, and provide the wearer with a more comfortable and soft fit.Further, an array may provide the appearance of an elastic body of acertain width, similar to elastic bodies disposed on a durableundergarment. Thus, disposal of an array may connote an undergarmentlook, or high quality.

Herein, the basic array 122 comprises 2-10 elastic bodies, or 2-5elastic bodies, or 2-3 elastic bodies. Herein, the concentrated array124 comprises 2-4 elastic bodies, or 2-3 elastic bodies. The basic array122 may be disposed in a relatively large extra-interval 134 in thelongitudinal direction between at least one neighboring elastic bodyoutside the array, of 8-22 mm. The concentrated array 124 may bedisposed in a relatively small extra-interval 134 in the longitudinaldirection between at least one neighboring elastic body outside thearray of less than 8 mm, or from 4 to less than 8 mm; wherein theextra-interval 134 is greater than the inner-interval 132.

In summary, an array may be defined as meeting a), b), and c) asfollows:

a) one array is formed by 2-10 elastic bodies;

b) each elastic body within one array is disposed in an inner-interval132 in the longitudinal direction between each elastic body of 2-4 mm;

c) one specific array disposed in an extra-interval 134 in thelongitudinal direction between at least one neighboring elastic bodiesoutside the specific array of greater than the inner-interval 132.

In summary, a basic array 122 may be defined as meeting a), b), and c)as follows:

a) one basic array 122 is formed by 2-10 elastic bodies;

b) each elastic body within one basic array 122 is disposed in aninner-interval 132 in the longitudinal direction between each elasticbody of 2-4 mm;

c) one specific basic array 122 disposed in an extra-interval 134 in thelongitudinal direction between at least one neighboring elastic bodyoutside the specific basic array 122 of 8-22 mm.

In summary, a concentrated array 124 may be defined as meeting a), b),and c) as follows:

a) one concentrated array 124 is formed by 2-4 elastic bodies;

b) each elastic body within one concentrated array 124 is disposed in aninner-interval 132 in the longitudinal direction between each elasticbody of 2-4 mm;

c) one specific concentrated array 124 disposed in an extra-interval 134in the longitudinal direction between at least one neighboring elasticbody outside the specific concentrated array 124 of greater than theinner-interval 132 of the specific concentrated array 124 and less than8 mm.

The front belt 84 may comprise at least 5 arrays. The front belt 84 maycomprise at least 1, or at least 2, or at least 3, or at least 4 basicarrays 122. The elastic bodies disposed on the front belt 84 may all bearranged in arrays. The front belt 84 may comprise basic arrays 122 andconcentrated arrays 124. The elastic bodies disposed on the front belt84 may all be arranged in either basic arrays 122 or concentrated arrays124.

The back belt 86 may comprise at least 5 arrays. The back belt 86 maycomprise at least 1, or at least 2, or at least 3, or at least 4 basicarrays 122. The elastic bodies disposed on the back belt 86 may all bearranged in arrays. The back belt 86 may comprise basic arrays 122 andconcentrated arrays 124. The elastic bodies disposed on the back belt 86may all be arranged in basic arrays 122.

Referring again to FIG. 3 , arrays may be disposed on both the frontbelt 84 and the back belt 86. The arrays from the front and back belt84, 86 may be disposed in a matched arrangement 136. By matchedarrangement 136, what is meant is that at least one elastic bodycomprised in an array at the belt side edge 89 of the front belt 84 andat least one elastic body comprised in an array at the belt side edge 89of the back belt 86 are located in substantially the same position atboth seams 32. By substantially same position, what is meant is aposition within reasonable deviation from the designed arrangementoccurred in high speed production of the article, for example within 4mm, or within 2 mm. In one embodiment, all of the elastic bodiescomprised in an array at the belt side edge 89 of the front belt 84 andall of the elastic bodies comprised in an array at the belt side edge 89of the back belt 86 may be located in substantially the same position atboth seams 32. In embodiments where the distal edges 88 of the front andback belts 84, 86 are substantially parallel and matched, and also allof the elastic bodies 96 extend in the transverse directionsubstantially parallel to each other such as in FIGS. 2-5 , a matchedarrangement may alternatively be identified by comparing the position ofthe array located from the distal edge 88 of the belt. When thepositions of the arrays from the distal edge 88 in the front and backbelt 84, 86 match, then this is considered a matched arrangement.

Matched arrangements 136 may be formed by either basic arrays 122 orconcentrated arrays 124. Matched arrangements 136 of arrays may beuseful for providing clearly defined gathers in the extra-interval 134,such as in the vicinity of the waist opening or the leg opening. Thearea indicated as 136 in FIG. 3 is considered to include 2 matchedarrangements 136.

Still referring to FIG. 3 , when there are at least 3 basic arraysdisposed on the article, the arrays may be disposed in a certainlocation in the longitudinal direction such that the arrays are in analternate arrangement 138. By alternate arrangement 138, what is meantis an arrangement of either e) or f) as follows:

e) the belt side edge 89 of one specific basic array comprised in thefront belt 84 is located in the extra-interval 134 of two basic arraysof the back belt 86 at the belt side edge 89;

f) the belt side edge 89 of one specific basic array comprised in theback belt 86 is located in the extra-interval 134 of two basic arrays ofthe front belt 84 at the belt side edge 89.

There may be more than one, for example 2 or 3, specific basic arrayscomprised in either the front or back belt 84, 86 at the belt side edge89 being located in the extra-interval 134 of two arrays comprised inthe other side belt at the belt side edge 89.

Namely, at both seams 32, an alternate arrangement is identified when atleast one basic array 122 at the belt side edge 89 of one of the frontor back belt 84, 86 is located in the extra-interval 134 of 2 basicarrays 122 at the belt side edge 89 of the other front or back belt 84,86. Alternate arrangements 138 of basic arrays 122 may be useful forproviding a soft fit around the side seam 32 by distributing the forcesprovided by the basic arrays 122 disposed on the front belt and the backbelt 84, 86. There are two areas indicated as 138 in FIG. 3 . The twoareas indicated as 138 in FIG. 3 are considered to include a total of 5alternate arrangements 138. The article of the present invention mayhave at least 2, or at least 3 alternate arrangements 138.

As described above, the basic array 122 or concentrated array 124 of thepresent invention may provide more or less the combined tensile force ofthe elastic bodies 96 in the array, such that each elastic body 96 maybe disposed at a relatively lower tensile force. Accordingly, theelastic bodies 96 for forming a basic array 122 may have a density of nomore than 940 dtex, and disposed at an elongation of from 100% to 350%,or from 150% to 300%. By elongation, “0% elongation” is meant theoriginal length of the elastic body. The elastic bodies 96 for forming aconcentrated array 124 may have a density of no more than 1100 dtex, orno more than 940 dtex, and disposed at an elongation of from 150% to300%.

In one embodiment, the total number of elastic bodies 96 disposed on asingle article may be limited for providing the article in an economicalmanner. The belt of the present invention may be disposed of a total ofno more than 60, or no more than 54, or no more than 46 elastic bodies.The article of the present invention may have an entire longitudinallength of the article of from 350 mm to 600 mm, an effective transversebelt width (LW) of from 315 mm to 500 mm, a back belt longitudinallength (LB) of from 100 mm to 180 mm, a front belt longitudinal length(LF) of from 80 mm to 160 mm, a main body longitudinal length of from310 mm to 560 mm, and a main body transverse width of from 150 mm to 210mm. The article of the present invention may have a distance between thedistal edge of the front belt to the longitudinal edge of the main bodyof from 0 mm to 70 mm, and a distance between the distal edge of theback belt to the longitudinal edge of the main body of from 0 mm to 90mm, and such distances on the front and back belt may be the same ordifferent. The longitudinal length of the main body may be from 70% to100% of the entire longitudinal length of the article. When the mainbody comprises an absorbent core 62, the core may have a longitudinallength of from 270 mm to 500 mm, a maximum transverse width of the coreof from 90 mm to 125 mm, and a distance between the longitudinal edge ofthe core to the longitudinal edge of the main body of from 10 mm to 40mm. The longitudinal length of the core may be from 60% to 95% of theentire longitudinal length of the article, or from 66% to 97% of themain body.

The article of the present invention may have a Waist CircumferenceForce provided by the elastic bodies 96 disposed on the waist belt 40 ofno more than 10 N, or no more than 8 N, according to the Whole ArticleForce Measurement as described herein below. The Whole Article ForceMeasurement is for quantifying the force provided by the article 20 whenstretched along the waist circumference, simulating initial stretchexperience of the article 20 in the transverse direction when the userinserts hands in the article and expands the article. Namely, more orless the total tensile force provided by the elastic bodies 96 disposedin the transverse direction are measured. While there may be otherelastic bodies disposed on the article, for example along thelongitudinal side edges of the main body, the impact of such otherelastic bodies are known to be small, when the user stretches thearticle in the transverse direction. The Whole Article Force Measurementis obtained by extending, or loading, the article in the transversedirection until a force of 19.6 N is attained, wherein the force at thepoint where the belt 40 article reaches 70% of the maximum stretch isobtained. The force expected to be perceived by the user for expandingthe article may be controlled, such that the user may experience asatisfying expansion of the belt 40 without excess effort.

Elastic bodies arranged in basic arrays 122, concentrated arrays 124, orotherwise, may be disposed in combination in different zones of theelastic belt for creating areas of higher and lower tensile stress.Referring to FIGS. 3-5 , the front and back belts 84, 86 are eachdivided into 4 zones extending in the transverse direction and definedof its position from the distal edge 88 to the proximal edge 90 relativeto the percentage of the seam length LS. The entirety of the length ofthe belt side edge 89 of the front belt 84 is seamed with a certainlength of the belt side edge 89 of the back belt 86 to define a seamlength LS. When seam length LS is considered 0% at the distal edge 88and 100% at the proximal edge 90 of the front belt 84, the zones aredefined as such: 0-25% is the waist zone 102, 25-50% is the distal tummyzone 104, 50-85% is the proximal tummy zone 106, and 85-100% is the legzone 108. When there is an elastic body disposed at 25% from the distaledge 88, such elastic body is considered to be included in the waistzone 102. When there is an elastic body disposed at 50% from the distaledge 88, or 85% from the distal edge 88, such elastic body is consideredto be included in the proximal tummy zone 106. For embodiments where theback belt 86 has a greater longitudinal length LB than the longitudinallength LF of the front belt 84, the remaining length of “LB minus LS” ofthe back belt 86 is not counted in the 4 zones described above.

Referring to FIG. 3 , at least one alternate arrangement 138 may belocated in at least one of the distal tummy zone 104, the proximal tummyzone 106, and the leg zone 108. At least one matched arrangement 136 maybe located in at least one of the waist zone 102 and the leg zone 108.The waist zone 102 may comprise at least one matched arrangement 136,the distal tummy zone 104 may comprise at least one alternatearrangement 138, the proximal tummy zone 106 may comprise at least onealternate arrangement 138, and the leg zone 108 may comprise at leastone matched arrangement 136. All of the elastic bodies 96 disposed onthe waist zone 102 may be in a matched arrangement 136, and all of theelastic bodies 96 disposed on the distal tummy zone 104 may be in analternate arrangement 138.

Referring to FIGS. 3-5 , the tensile stress of the front proximal tummyzone 106 may be provided higher than the tensile stress of any otherzone. This may be achieved by having concentrated arrays 124 disposed onthe front proximal tummy zone 106 such as in FIG. 3 . This may also beachieved by disposing basic arrays 122 of different extra-intervals 134such as in FIG. 4 . This may also be achieved by disposing concentratedarrays 124 in both the front and back belts 84, 86 such as in FIG. 5 .The tensile stress of the front leg zone 108 may be no more than 50% ofthe tensile stress of the front proximal tummy zone 106, and the tensilestress of the back leg zone 108 may be no more than 100% of the tensilestress of the back proximal tummy zone 106. The tensile stress of thefront distal tummy zone 104 may be lower than the tensile stress of theback distal tummy zone 104.

The profiling and arrangement of elastic bodies 96 of FIGS. 3-5 mayprovide the article of the present invention to take an S-curve sideseam 32 observed by the side when worn by the wearer, as shown as inFIG. 6 . Such behavior of the waist belt 40 of the present invention isin contrast with many belt-type wearable articles available in themarket as shown in FIG. 7 , wherein the side seam 32 takes a relativelystraight line, or a line slightly slanted toward the back. Without beingbound by theory, the aforementioned profiling of the elastic bodies 96per zone is believed to provide the article of the present inventionwith a shaped waist belt 40 that conforms well to a human body,particularly to a lower torso of a child of less than 36 months of age,and therefore provides good fit and comfort to the wearer, withoutcompromise of sagging prevention or leakage prevention. Namely, thefront proximal zone is subject to high tensile stress such that thearticle may be anchored against the wearer's trochanter, whilefacilitating leg movement, and further leaving more area for the backproximal zone to accommodate the wearer's buttock. Further, by providinga higher tensile stress to the back distal tummy zone 104 compared tothe front distal tummy zone 104, the wearer's front waist area isaccommodated.

Whole Article Force Measurement

Force is measured using an Electronic Tensile Tester with a computerinterface such as the MTS Criterion C42 running TestWorks 4 Software(available from MTS SYSTEMS (CHINA) CO., LTD) or equivalent instrument.A load cell is selected so that force results for the samples testedwill be between 10 and 90% of capacity of the load cell used. Theinstrument is calibrated according to the manufacturer's instructions.All testing is performed in a room maintained at 23±2° C. and 50±5%relative humidity.

The tensile tester is fitted with hanger-type sample holding fixtures300 as shown in FIG. 8 . Each fixture comprises a rigid linearrubber-coated horizontal bar section 302 to prevent sample slippageduring testing. The outer bar diameter (including the rubber coating) ofthe horizontal bar sections is 10.0 mm. The central axes of thehorizontal bar sections 302 are configured to remain parallel and in thesame vertical plane throughout the test procedure. The gaugecircumference is determined by the following equation:Gauge Circumference=2×(H+D+πD/2)where H is the vertical gap between the horizontal bar sections 302, andD is the outer diameter of the bar.

The instrument is set up to go through the following steps:

Crosshead Speed 254.0 mm/min Final Load Point 19.61N Hold Time 0 Numberof Cycles 1 Data Acquisition Rate 50 Hz

A sample article 20 is inserted onto the upper horizontal bar section302 so that the bar passes through the waist opening and one leg openingof the article. The crosshead is raised until the specimen hangs abovethe lower bar and does not touch lower bar 302. The load cell is taredand the crosshead is lowered to enable the lower bar 302 to be insertedthrough the waist opening and other leg opening without stretching thearticle. The article is adjusted so that the longitudinal centerline L1of the article is in a horizontal plane halfway between the upper andlower bars 302. The center of the side portion in contact with the bar302 is situated on the same vertical axis as the instrument load cell.The crosshead is raised slowly while the article is held in place byhand as necessary until the force is between 0.05 and 0.1 N, whiletaking care not to add any unnecessary force. The gauge circumference atthis point is the Initial Gauge Circumference. The test is initiated andthe crosshead moves up at 254 mm/min until a force of 19.6 N isattained, then the crosshead immediately returns to the initial gaugecircumference at the same speed. The maximum circumference at 19.6 N andthe force at 70% stretch circumference during the extension segment ofthe test are recorded.Circumference (mm)=2×(H+D+πD/2)

The maximum circumference at 19.6 N is defined as the Full StretchCircumference (mm). The 70% stretch circumference is defined as the fullstretch circumference×0.7. The Waist Circumference Force is defined asthe force at 70% stretch circumference during the load (extension)segment of the test.

Five samples are analyzed and their average Initial Gauge Circumference,average Full Stretch Circumference and average Waist Circumference Forceare calculated and reported to the nearest 1 mm, 1 mm and 0.01 N,respectively.

Belt Zone Tensile Stress Measurement

The tensile stress (N/m) is calculated by tensile force (N) divided bythe specimen width (m). Force may be measured using an ElectronicTensile Tester with a computer interface such as the MTS Criterion C42running TestWorks 4 Software (available from MTS SYSTEMS (CHINA) CO.,LTD) or equivalent instrument. A load cell is chosen so that forceresults for the samples tested will be between 10 and 90% of capacity ofthe load cell. The instrument is calibrated according to themanufacturer's instructions. All testing is performed in a roommaintained at 23±2° C. and 50±5% relative humidity. The instrument isequipped with single line contact grips at least as wide as the testspecimen.

To obtain test specimens, the sample article is cut open along the sideseams 32, and the front and rear elastic belt sections 40 are removedfrom the main body 38 by separating the bonding between the waist beltand main body. Cold Spray may be used, paying attention not to makewrinkles in the belt sections. Care is taken not to spray on any beltelastic body 96. The obtained elastic belts 40 are severed into zones102, 104, 106, 108 according to the present invention with care not tocut any elastic body 96. Samples are pre-conditioned at 23° C.±2° C. and50%±5% relative humidity for two hours prior to testing.

The instrument is set up to go through the following steps. InitialGauge Length is calculated from the Initial Gauge Circumference which isdetermined during the Whole Article Force Test using separate identicalarticles, as described above. Initial Gauge Length=0.5×Initial GaugeCircumference. The final gauge length is calculated from the FullStretch Circumference which is determined during the Whole Article ForceTest, as described above.

Crosshead Speed 254.0 mm/min Data Acquisition Rate 50 Hz Final GaugeLength 0.5 × Full Stretch Circumference Hold Time 0 Number of Cycles 1

One end of the specimen is clamped into the upper clamp and the load istared. The other end of the specimen is clamped into the lower clamp.Approximately 5 mm of each end of the specimen is behind the contactline of the grip. The test is started and the specimen is extended tothe final gauge length at a crosshead speed of 254 mm/min, thenimmediately returned to the original gauge length at the same speed. Thespecimen is extended in the article transverse direction during thetest. The unload force at 70% of the Final Gauge Length during theunload segments of the test is recorded.

Five articles are analyzed and the unload forces are recorded for eachof the front and back zones 102, 104, 106, 108. The average tensileforce (N) is calculated to the nearest 0.01 N for each zone includingthe front and back specimens for that zone. The tensile stress for eachzone is calculated by the average tensile force (N) divided by theaverage specimen width (m) and reported to the nearest 0.1 N/m.

EXAMPLES Example 1

A wearable article of the present invention having an elastic profilingaccording to FIGS. 2, 3 , and Table 1 below having an effective beltwidth LW of 355 mm and a seam length LS of 130 mm.

Example 2

A wearable article of the present invention having an elastic profilingaccording to FIG. 4 , and Table 1 below having an effective belt widthLW of 355 mm and a seam length LS of 130 mm.

Example 3

A wearable article of the present invention having an elastic profilingaccording to FIG. 5 , and Table 1 below having an effective belt widthLW of 355 mm and a seam length LS of 130 mm.

Comparative Example 1

A wearable article of the prior art having an elastic profilingaccording to FIGS. 9 and 10 , and Table 1 below having an effective beltwidth LW of 355 mm and a seam length LS of 130 mm.

TABLE 1 dtex/elongation %/number of elastic bodies Comparative Example 1Example 2 Example 3 Example 1 Front 540dtex/170%/4 940dtex/210%/3470dtex/170%/6 940dtex/210%/3 waist zone Front 540dtex/170%/2540dtex/180%/2 470dtex/170%/4 940dtex/210%/3 distal and and and andtummy 540dtex/275%/2 540dtex/180%/2 470dtex/170%/4 680dtex/275%/1 zonewith tummy cut with tummy cut with tummy cut with tummy cut and540dtex/275%/1 with tummy cut Front 540dtex/275%/2 540dtex/275%/1540dtex/275%/2 680dtex/275%/5 proximal with tummy cut with tummy cutwith tummy cut with tummy cut tummy and and and zone 940dtex/275%/6940dtex/275%/6 680dtex/275%/8 with tummy cut with tummy cut with tummycut Front leg 540dtex/275%/2 540dtex/150%/4 540dtex/170%/2680dtex/275%/2 zone with tummy cut with tummy cut with tummy cut withtummy cut Back 540dtex/170%/4 940dtex/210%/3 470dtex/170%/6940dtex/210%/3 waist zone Back 940dtex/170%/4 1100dtex/180%/3680dtex/170%/6 1100dtex/170%/3 distal tummy zone Back 540dtex/275%/61100dtex/180%/1 470dtex/275%/8 680dtex/275%/4 proximal with tummy cutand with tummy cut with tummy cut tummy 540dtex/275%/4 zone with tummycut Back leg 540dtex/275%/2 540dtex/150%/2 540dtex/150%/3 680dtex/275%/3zone with tummy cut with tummy cut with tummy cut with tummy cut

Elastic bodies indicated as “tummy cut” are removed of elasticity at thecentral area of the central panels 80 overlapping with the main body 38,and have 66% effective length of elasticity.

The Waist Circumference Force and tensile stress for each zone weremeasured according to the Whole Article Force Measurement and Belt ZoneTensile Stress Force Measurement methods herein, respectively, forExample 1 and Comparative Example 1. Results are found in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Example 1 Comparative Example 1 Waist Circumference Force (N)6.12 5.99 Tensile Stress (N/m) Front waist zone 27.4 36.3 Front distaltummy zone 27.4 29.8 Front proximal tummy zone 107.7 25.7 Front leg zone19.5 22.1 Back waist zone 28.6 32.0 Back distal tummy zone 49.5 39.4Back proximal tummy zone 32.5 20.4 Back leg zone 20.5 23.1

For Examples 1-3, the tensile stress of the front proximal tummy zone106 is highest among any other zone, and is more than 150% of thetensile stress of the back proximal zone. For Example 1, the tensilestress of the front proximal tummy zone 106 is more than 200% of thetensile stress of the front distal tummy zone 104.

Also for Examples 1-3, the tensile stress of the front leg zone 108 isno more than 50% of the tensile stress of the front proximal tummy zone106, and the tensile stress of the back leg zone 108 is no more than100% of the tensile stress of the back proximal tummy zone 106.

For Comparative Example 1, the tensile stress of the front proximaltummy zone 106 is lower than the tensile stress of the front distaltummy zone 104, and is less than 150% of the tensile stress of the backproximal zone. Also for Comparative Example 1, the tensile stress of thefront leg zone 108 is greater than the tensile stress of the frontproximal tummy zone 106, and the tensile stress of the back leg zone 108is greater than the tensile stress of the back proximal tummy zone 106.

Example 1 provided profiling of tensile stress per zone withoutsignificant increase of total tensile force of the belt compared toComparative Example 1.

Compared to Comparative Example 1, Examples 1-3 provide improvement inone or more of: fit, coverage of buttock area, comfort during wear,prevention of sagging, prevention of leakage, fit around waist, softnessof inside of the belt, prevention of red marking, overall softness,looking soft, and perceived overall quality.

Consumer Acceptance

Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 including an identical absorbentcore were subjected to a consumer test for application on 50 panelistsand 51 panelists, respectively. The panelists were caregivers ofJapanese Size 4 (L-size) wearers of age 0-36 months, and at about thesame boy/girl ratio. The caregivers of the panelists were given enoughproducts to use either product for 5 days, and then answer aquestionnaire including the following questions, and asked to rate theperformance in 5 scales from “Very Poor” to “Excellent”, wherein 100represents “Excellent”, 75 represents “Good”, 50 represent “Fair”, 25represent “Poor” and 0 represents “Very Poor”. The ratings were averagedand statistically analyzed. Test results are shown below in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Comparative Question Example 1 Example 1 Overall Rating  77* 69Overall Softness  86* 71 Belt Softness 79 70 Overall Fit Of The PantWhen The Diaper Is 72 64 Full Overall Quality Of The Product  80* 71Preventing Skin Problems Such As 70 62 Rash/Redness/Would Cause YouConcern Preventing Diaper Dropping & Sagging That 76 71 Would Cause YouConcern *Statistically significant over Comparative Example 1 with 90%confidence level

According to the consumer acceptance test results, Example 1 of thepresent invention, compared to Comparative Example 1, was acceptedbetter in all aspects of the product listed above, and was statisticallysignificantly better accepted in many aspects of the product. Inparticular, Example 1 was significantly conceived better in “OverallRating”, “Overall Softness”, and “Overall quality of the product”.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.”

Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or relatedpatent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation ofany document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect toany invention disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in anycombination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests ordiscloses any such invention. Further, to the extent that any meaning ordefinition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning ordefinition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, themeaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shallgovern.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is thereforeintended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An absorbent article, comprising: a main body anda ring-like elastic belt comprising a front belt and a back belt,wherein the front belt is joined to a front waist panel of the mainbody, and the back belt is joined to a back waist panel of the mainbody, wherein the front and back belts each having a left side panel anda right side panel, and wherein transverse edges of the front belt andthe back belt are joined by first and second seams to form a waistopening and two leg openings; wherein each of the front belt and backbelt formed by a plurality of elastic bodies running in the transversedirection sandwiched between an inner sheet and an outer sheet; eachfront belt and back belt having transversely continuous proximal anddistal edges, the proximal edge being located closer than the distaledge relative to a longitudinal center of the article; wherein at leastsome of the elastic bodies disposed in the front belt are arranged in atleast 3 arrays, the at least 3 arrays meeting a), b), and c) as follows:a) one array is formed by 2-10 elastic bodies; b) each elastic bodywithin the one array (of clause a) above) is disposed in aninner-interval in the longitudinal direction between each elastic bodyof 2-4 mm; and c) one specific array, outside of and separate from theone array, disposed in an extra-interval in the longitudinal directionbetween at least one neighboring elastic bodies outside the specificarray of greater than the inner-interval; wherein each of a selectnumber of the at least 3 arrays is a concentrated array that meetsrequirements a) and b), each concentrated array being disposed at anextra-interval in the longitudinal direction from an adjacent array,wherein the extra-interval is a distance greater than the inner-intervaland less than 8 mm; wherein all of the elastic bodies disposed in thefront and back belts extend in the transverse direction substantiallyparallel to each other; wherein the entirety of the length of the beltside edge of the front belt is seamed with a certain length of the beltside edge of the back belt to define a seam length LS; wherein the frontand back belts are each divided into 4 zones extending in the transversedirection and defined by its location from the distal edge to theproximal edge relative to the percentage of the seam length LS wherein0-25% is the waist zone, 25-50% is the distal tummy zone, 50-85% is theproximal tummy zone, and 85-100% is the leg zone; and wherein theconcentrated array is disposed in the front proximal tummy zone.
 2. Theabsorbent article of claim 1, wherein all of the elastic bodies disposedin the front belt are arranged in the at least 3 arrays.
 3. Theabsorbent article of claim 1, wherein each of the 3 arrays is a basicarray that meets requirements a), b), and c), each basic array beingdisposed at a distance of 8-22 mm in the longitudinal direction from anadjacent basic array.
 4. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein theelastic bodies of the one array has a density of no more than 940 dtex.5. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the elastic belt comprisesno more than 60 elastic bodies.
 6. The absorbent article of claim 1,wherein the article has a Waist Circumference Force according to theWhole Article Force Measurement herein of no more than 10 N.
 7. Theabsorbent article of claim 1, wherein all of the elastic bodies disposedin the front proximal tummy zone are arranged in concentrated arrays. 8.The absorbent article of claim 7, wherein the tensile stress of thefront leg zone is no more than 50% of the tensile stress of the frontproximal tummy zone.
 9. The absorbent article of claim 8, wherein thetensile stress of the back leg zone is no more than 100% of the tensilestress of the back proximal tummy zone.
 10. The absorbent article ofclaim 1, wherein the tensile stress of the front distal tummy zone islower than the tensile stress of the back distal tummy zone.
 11. Theabsorbent article of claim 1, wherein the proximal edges and the distaledges of the front belt and the back belt are substantially parallel.12. The absorbent article of claim 11, wherein the longitudinal lengthof the back belt is longer than that of the front belt.
 13. Theabsorbent article of claim 12, wherein the distal edge of the front beltis aligned with the distal edge of the back belt.
 14. The absorbentarticle of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the elasticity of atleast one of the elastic bodies is removed in the region overlappingwith the front and back waist panels of the main body.
 15. The absorbentarticle of claim 1, wherein the elastic bodies of the array are disposedat an elongation of from 100% to 350%.